This invention relates to optical connection between circuit packs and optical components on circuit packs.
Circuit packs comprise a circuit board and a plurality of semiconductor components mounted thereon. Typical systems for interconnecting a plurality of circuit packs involve placing a connector on the edge of the circuit board and inserting the pack into a shelf so that the connector mates with pins on a backplane. In an increasing number of applications, an optical as well as electrical interconnection is desirable between circuit packs. In present systems, the fibers are left to hang loose between the packs, which tends to create a "rat's nest" of fibers. With the increasing complexity of such systems and the need for greater optical interconnection, this type of approach becomes unwieldy.